City of Smoke
by Kirachan2
Summary: adopted story from Cipher-of-Will.
1. Chapter 1

City of Smoke

Author: Kirachan2

Disclaimer: I own nothing . ;_;

Chapter 1

The music pounded through my body. Common sense told me that my ears would be ringing after this but my heart told me to sway to the beat, to forget my troubles. The dance floor was filled with people like me; people who wanted to belong. Here I merged with the bodies and became one with the music. Beside me, my friend Sora tried to dance but ended up looking awkward and totally out of place. I knew he didn't like clubs but hey, I didn't like his music practices but I still went. The song changed this one with a slightly slower beat. I slowed my dancing to match the pace and looked around the room. Most of the teenagers had their hair dyed wacky colours like sky blue or electric green. My naturally blonde hair stuck out slightly, the same as Sora's light brown hair did. A man with scarlet hair caught my eye. He was probably the tallest guy in the room excluding the bouncers by the doors. He had styled his hair into long spikes, strangely reminding me of a hedgehog. Behind him I saw a slightly shorter boy and girl.

The guy had a mullet…or was it a Mohawk? The girl's hair made her look like a bug with the way two longer strands stuck out on top of her head. I wondered if she had wanted that effect… Slowly, the trio made their way across the dance floor, their movements purposeful and by no means were they dancing. All off them had their eyes fixed on something in front of them. I followed their gazes and saw…. something. I stopped dancing altogether and stared at the strange creature. It was black and had huge antennas sticking out of its skull. I could have sworn its eyes were glowing yellow. I looked back at the three teenagers who were still stalking towards the creature. They looked like predators stalking prey. I saw something glint in the girl's hand. It appeared that no one else had noticed what was going on as everyone else was still dancing. Sora's voice drew me out of my state; I hadn't realized he'd been talking to me. "Oh, and I wanted to tell you that I've been sleeping with your Mum. Just thought you should know." What? I turned and gave him a look of pure horror.

"Whoa, chill, Roxas. I only said that to get your attention. You weren't listening to me and I was saying that-" "Sora," I cut him off. "Can you see those guys over there?" He stood up on his toes and peered over the heads of the surrounding teenagers. He looked at me and shook his head. I saw the black creature slip through a door that had 'Supply Room' written on it in large letters. The three teenagers were still in pursuit, heading straight for where the creature went. "What are you looking at?" Sora asked, still failing to see the three teenagers. I made a snap decision to see what was going on.

"I'll be right back," I told Sora and pushed myself through the crowd of bodies, apologizing to everyone and keeping my head down. I saw the three enter the supply room and tried to somehow move faster. I peered through the door. My eyes widened comically. The blonde haired girl had out a set of small knives and was launching them at the creature. The mullet haired guy held a large blue instrument that looked like a sort of guitar. He was beating the creature with it. The redhead held a pair of circular discs and was slicing the creature manically. The creature let out a pained groan and was surrounded by a dark, swirling cloud. The mist of black disappeared and so had the creature. There was nothing left of it, not even blood. The redhead grinned and turned towards the door but stopped when he saw me. I was in shock, unable to move. He took a side step to the left, my eyes following him. Move, for God's sake! I commanded myself but my feet would not obey. The guy took a step to the right, my eyes still following him. His smirk had disappeared now, replaced by a more worried expression. The mullet haired guy noticed the redheads movements and was about to say something to him until he saw me. His eyes widened for a second before his face returned to a relaxed state. The girl turned to look at me and she too was caught by surprise. All of them stared at me, no one saying anything.

Eventually, the redhead spoke. "Well this could be a problem." The girl scoffed, "Please, Heartless are a problem, this guy is just a minor nuisance that can be taken care of." She unsheathed her knives and advanced towards me. That set off every warning bell in my body. Finally, my feet listened to me. I spun on my heel and ran. I ran like hell was after me. I would have ran straight for the door but I had to grab Sora first. He protested at being dragged out of the club but let me take him outside. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the three teenagers looking around the club. Looking for me. I charged out of the door, my hand still firmly locked around Sora's wrist. I ran about a hundred yards down the street before deeming it to be safe…at least for now. "What was that?" Sora asked, looking as if he were unsure whether he should be angry with me or worried about me. I shook my head slightly. "There were these teenagers that killed this black thing and then one of them said she was going to kill me!" Sora looked confused but slowly nodded his head. "Okaaaay…I believe you.." he said rather unconvincingly. I knew it was a crazy story but Sora had been my friend since childhood. I was hoping for at least a convincing lie that he believed me. He sighed. "Hey, it's late, I'll call my Mum and ask her to pick us up." He pulled out his phone and rang his Mum. Whatever had happened tonight sure was weird.


	2. Chapter 2

City of Smoke

Author: Kirachan2

Will most contain yaoi.

Rated: Fiction T

Disclaimer: I do not own kingdom hearts

Hi! I`m sorry that it takes me so long to rewrite the story and change a few things. I hope you can understand that. The first 8 chapters have a few changes but the biggest part is still the original.

'Ag-a-doo-doo-doo, push pineapple, shake the tree

Aga-doo-doo-doo, push pineapple, grind coffee

To the left, to the right-'

What in the name of all that is holy was that noise coming from my phone? Whatever it is, needs stop. Now. I charged in to my bedroom and rifled through my things until I found my mobile. Sora is Calling. I answered the call, silencing the ringtone at last! "Hello?" "Hey, it's Sora. The band and I are going into town. Do you want to come?" "Yeah, sounds good. Shall I meet you there in half an hour?" "Yup, meet us outside the music shop. Okay? See you there!" "Okay. By the way, Sora, did you change my ringtone?" No reply. "Sora?" Nothing. I took the phone away from my ear to look at the screen. Call Ended. Had he hung up on me? And just to elaborate, there was a little icon of a phone being put down underneath the 'call ended' sign. I´m so going to hit him for that! Wait, why was I acting like such a girl? I really needed to get over that stuff. I pocketed my phone and shoved my wallet, my IPod, my keys and a CD I needed to return to Sora into a black and white checkered rucksack. It took me about twenty minutes to walk into town. I should have left straight away to get there at the agreed time. I didn't though. As soon as I was about to turn the handle of the door, it swung open. I jumped backwards, nearly falling over. "Jesus!"

"Actually it's just me." I scowled at Cloud as he strutted in, carrying several shopping bags under one arm, meaning he had the other hand free to muss my hair as he walked past me. Pushing his hand away and glaring, earned me a smirk from him in return. I didn't actually mind Cloud. He was like a father to me. I had no idea who or where my real father was - not that I cared. The only thing I knew about him was that he caused Aerith – my Mum - to cry sometimes. On a few occasions I had walked in on her bawling her eyes out over a picture of my father she had forbidden me to look at. I had never searched for that photo – I didn't want to know his face. Aerith walked in through the door next, struggling with the shopping bags. I took a few bags out of her hands and set them down on the kitchen counter.

"Thank you, Roxas," she said and started to put away the groceries. "Were you alright on your own?" "Of course I was." Honestly, I was fifteen and she was still unsure about leaving me home alone. I'd done it loads of times before. "I was just making sure…" "You know, I think Roxas can take care of himself now," Cloud said. Thank you, Cloud! I smiled at him but he wasn't looking at me. His gaze was on Aerith. She looked sharply at him but his calm aura held. "There are a lot of things that could happen; things Roxas couldn't handle," she said, glancing at me. Well, that just killed any pride I felt right then. I knew what to do in a fire, if a burglar broke in and if I got hurt. It was pretty much the same solution for all of them: 110. The two looked at each other for a minute before Cloud succumbed to her. "Yeah, maybe…" he said and went to put the milk in the fridge. He didn't sound sure though. It sounded like he still thought he was right. For as long as I had known Cloud, I knew he didn't like to be the loser. He would do everything he could to win a fight. He called it 'survival instincts'. I called him a 'sore loser'. Knowing I had already wasted five minutes I tried to set off for town again. But alas, God hates me today. "Where are you going?" Aerith inquired. "I´m going to town with Sora and his band."

"Ah, he's still got the band going, eh?" Cloud said. Before I could answer Cloud, Aerith interrupted: "No." "What? Why?" I asked, startled. "Is this because of last night?" Although Sora and I had left the club sooner than we planned to, Aerith still said I had been out for far too long. We had fought for a while; her saying it was too dangerous to be out that late, me saying I was old enough to be out late. To be honest, I was still a bit upset with her for making such a big deal. But now she wasn't letting me go out? In the early afternoon? "I need you to stay home and not go out for the next few weeks." Hold on, she said 'weeks.' Not 'days' – 'weeks'. I know I'd been home quite late last night. But it was barely midnight – uh 1:45 – and I was being grounded for weeks? "Weeks? Specifically how many weeks?" She paused. "Five or six, maybe more." Forget weeks, I was being grounded for over a month! "Why?" I asked again, making it very clear I was upset. "It's difficult to explain but if we can we should be at the villa in only one or two weeks." Was it just me or was she making no sense at all? So I wasn't allowed to go outside, but apparently that didn't matter because we would be at our holiday home in a couple of weeks? The holiday home we only go to in the summer? The one we are now apparently going to in the middle of March? "What's going on?" "Look," she snapped, making me shrink back instinctively. "I just need you to stay indoors. We'll go to the villa and then you can go outdoors." "You know school starts again soon. Will we back in time for that?" Call me weird, but I actually kind of liked school. That and I knew Aerith would never let me miss a day of it – not for anything. "I'll phone the school and tell them we'll be away for a few weeks." "Weeks as in three or four weeks? A month?" She nodded. "I have exams," I muttered. "You can take them later." She turned away from me, making it clear the conversation wouldn't be continued. I looked longingly at the door. So just like that, I wasn't allowed to go outdoors. Even though I knew I had exasperated my Mum enough, I still carried on: "You haven't told me exactly why you're not letting me out yet." It wasn't really a question, more of a statement, but it was obvious I wanted an answer. "I'll tell you later." She gritted out.

I had never seen her so worked up before or so secretive. Usually she would tell me everything with calm and patience. I looked to Cloud for help but he seemed to be avoiding looking at me. I caught his eye but all he had to say was: "Go to your room, Roxas." I dragged myself into my room and flopped down on to my bed. What was going on? Why were they both acting so strangely? If I was going to be grounded she could at least tell me why. Well if she wasn't going to explain I wasn't going to be obedient. I retrieved my rucksack from where I had dropped it on the floor earlier and crept out of my room. I heard hushed voices coming from the living room. I listened for a minute but I couldn't hear everything they were saying. One voice – Cloud – was saying something about 'It's that time again' and the other voice –Aerith - said a name: Zexion. I thought little of it though as I had no familiarity with that name. Once safely past the living room door and in the kitchen, I scribbled a quick note and laid it down on the counter.

Gone into town with Sora. Won't be back late.

Roxas

I didn't want Aerith or Cloud phoning the police saying I had run away or something. All I wanted to do was enjoy a last taste of freedom with Sora. I wonder if his Mum was as mad at him as my Mum was? I pondered this as I walked into town with Suede blasting through my IPod headphones. I saw Sora standing outside the music shop, like he said, with Hayner and Pence. Pence was the drummer in his band and Hayner was the singer and bassist. Sora played guitar and wrote lyrics. In truth, they weren't that good. I think all of them knew this but they still hoped to get better. Sora's face lit up when he saw me. "At last!" he exclaimed. "What took you so long?" Hayner asked. "I got held up at home." I kind of didn't want to tell Hayner and Pence about what had happened. I liked them well enough but I wasn't exactly best friends with them. I only really knew them through Sora and hadn't spent a lot of time with them. So I glanced at Sora to make sure he knew that wasn't the whole truth and I would tell him about it later. We went to Game Stop and some other gaming stores and then finally to a café. Hayner and Pence spotted a couple of friends from their Primary School and went off to talk to them, leaving Sora and I alone. I immediately took the chance to tell him about what had happened before I left. I watched his face go from interested and cheery to horrified. "So she's not letting you go out and then she's going to whisk you off to your villa?" "Yeah, pretty much," I said, stirring my coffee idly. I didn't actually care for the stuff but it would supply me with sweet, glorious caffeine. "That's harsh…" "Was your Mum angry about you coming home late?" "Only a bit. She was just like: "Come home earlier next time" and then she went on about how the streets aren't safe at night." He grimaced, shuddering at the memory. We both hated it when we were told about how there are criminals and 'bad people' out on the streets at night. One would think they were referring to vampires, the way they talked about them. "You know Aerith is going to be really mad at you for sneaking out." "I left a note."

"But you still went against what she said. And you don't know why she was asking you to stay in. Maybe there's someone out to get you." "I like to think she would have just told me if that was the case." I knew I was selfish by going against my Mum but she had to start telling me things. I was dreading going home. Cloud could be very scary when he was angry and so could Aerith. I tried not to think about all that right now though. "So how's the band going?"

This was a regular conversation between us. I would give my opinion on his name ideas for the band because they could never settle on one. "It's going good, we're doing a new song called 'Higher, Lower'." "Cool, what's that song about?" "Uh….I haven't actually written any lyrics yet. We've only got a couple of chords so far…" That was just like the band. The only song they'd ever completed was a cover of another song. "Are there any new band names up for debate?" Sora brightened up. "Well I think we should be called Furious Mole!" "That's not a good name for a band." "It's original."

"Yeah but I'm pretty sure it's unique because it's a terrible name." "That's what the other guys said…" Sora finished his coffee and said he wanted to get something else. He got up and went to the till, leaving me to play with my phone. I wondered whether I should call Aerith to make sure she got my note but decided against it. Chances were she hadn't even realized I was missing. If that was the case I could sneak back home, throw away the note and pretend I never left! I looked around the coffee shop to see what Hayner and Pence were doing. I aborted looking for them though when I saw bright crimson in the corner of my eye. My head snapped to my left and my eyes widened when I saw him. The redhead from last night was sitting no more than four meters away from me, grinning at me like how a shark would grin at a smaller fish before devouring it. His hair was still spiked back. It looked like flames were on his skull, caught in time. For the second time that week, I was frozen. I had a horrible feeling in my gut. I knew I should have got out, this guy just radiated danger. In fact I never really should have left home. But all I could do was stare. My eyes bored into his lime green eyes. I had never seen eyes so green before. They were pretty….. He stared right back but broke off when Sora came back with a muffin. The redhead got up, sparing me one last glance, and sauntered out of the café. I made a snap decision to follow him. Standing up quickly, I followed him out through the café, leaving behind a confused Sora.

I think I might have said:

"I'll be back in a sec." but I couldn't be certain. All of my energy was focused on the redhead. I looked left and right when I got outside and saw him leaning against the building, arms folded, looking right at me. Before I could even comprehend what he was doing, he grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the entrance and closer to him. "You're blocking the entrance." Is what he said. Realizing what was happening, I yanked my arm out of his grip and stepped back so we were a respectable distance from each other. I made sure to keep out of the way of the entrance this time though. For a moment neither of us spoke. I felt kind of stupid; I hadn't really thought this through. "You know," he said at last. "You've caused quite a fuss." I looked blankly at him. "Excuse me?" "How are you doing it?" I drew another blank look. "Doing what?" He sighed. "You can see me." "….Am I not supposed to see you…?" "Yes. You're a mortal." What the hell? "And you're not?" Great, all I had done so far was ask him questions. Now I felt really stupid. He smirked. "Listen, Blondie. Let me make it simple. You're not supposed to see me but you can. I need you to come somewhere with me so we can fix the problem of how and why you can see me." Go somewhere with him? Why I can see him? Blondie! He moved towards me but I moved a couple of steps back. I had seen him kill…'something' last night. This guy wasn't a safe guy to be around if he was a chakram user. His smirk fell a little and he looked serious. "You can either come willingly, or I'll have to use force." Was this guy threatening to kidnap me? Ohhhhhh bugger. Was this the reason why Aerith didn't want me to go out? Wait, how could she know about the redhead? I hadn't told her about him or the incident last night. I looked wildly around me. Where could I run? He noticed this and said, "Don't run. Catching you will be easy." Yeah, he did have long legs….

'Ag-a-doo-doo-doo, push pineapple, shake the tree

Aga-doo-doo-doo-'

"Oh for God's sake, Sora!" I cursed as my phone played the annoying ringtone. I looked at the screen. Mum Mobile Calling. Before the redhead could stop me, I answered the call. "Hello?" "Roxas ! Where are you? Are you ok? Are you-" "I'm fine, I'm at Café Nero with Sora." "Come home immediately!" "I will, just let me go and-" "No! There's no time!" I winced and took the phone away from my ear a bit. Never had I heard her shout so loud. I heard a bang followed by something shattering on the other end of the phone. "Oh God…." She whispered. "What's going on?" "Roxas, listen to me. Do not come home. Stay at Sora's or somewhere. Don't come home!"

One minute I'm to go home as soon as possible and the next I'm not allowed to set foot there? What was going on? "Mum, what's happening? Where's Cloud?" "I love you," she said and the line went dead. "Mum?" The monotonous 'beep' was the only answer. "Damn it!" I swore and put my phone in my pocket. I looked up to see the redhead regarding me as if I were some sort of interesting insect he had found. He raised an eyebrow at me. I ignored him though. I had to go home. I had to find out what was happening. Without another word I darted back into the café, grabbed my rucksack and sprinted out again. I ran all the way home. I stopped when my house came into view but I could already see something was wrong. The front door was wide open. That definitely wasn't good. I ran with renewed strength, desperate to find Aerith and see if she was ok. At the front door I stopped running and slowly crept inside. "Aerith..?" I called out softly. I heard a movement, sounding like it was coming from upstairs. One step after the other, I ascended the stairs. I heard another rustle and followed it into Aerith's bedroom. I didn't find Aerith in there though. I found something much worse. Looming above me was a gigantic black creature, similar to what I had seen the red head kill last night, but much bigger. Its eyes were gleaming yellow orbs with no pupils. It didn't seem to have any facial features. There were two long antennas sticking out from its head though. Its torso was bulky and black with contrastingly skinny arms and legs. For the second time in one day and the third in a week, I was glued to the spot. A little voice was telling me I needed to move unless I wanted to be crushed by the monstrous black thing. That voice wasn't strong enough to make me actually do anything unfortunately. My feet stayed perfectly still as the creature leered down at me. It seemed to be inspecting me. For a while it stood quite still, as if waiting for something. For me to move? Possibly. The black creature curled one of its skeletal hands into a fist and drew it back slightly. Uh oh. The voice said. "Move!" I obeyed the command, thinking my brain had finally got into gear. That thought was wrong. Someone else had said that. The redhead from the club sprang before me and got into a defensive stance. He summoned his pair of chakrams and hurled them at the creature. 'Oh my God' was the intelligent thought I had when the spiked discs sliced through the creature, spraying a black substance over everything that was near. Again and again he hit the monster. It groaned and swiped at him, catching his upper body and thus throwing him into a wall. The creature turned back to me and went to crush me with its fist. Instinctively, I held up my hands and closed my eyes, waiting for the blow. I felt something metallic in my hands before I felt the blow connect with me. Had I been holding something? Trusting my instincts completely, I swung my hands the way you would if you were holding a blade. I opened my eyes to see a bit of silver metal slice through the monsters hand.

It roared and withdrew it's now bleeding hand. I stumbled back, puzzled. When had I picked up a sword? Furthermore, this sword was shaped like a key. The tip of the blade was like a star. Dangling on the hilt of the sword was a chain with a star-shaped sea shell. "Look out!" I looked up to see the monster taking another swing at me. Not being able to think of anything else to do, I held the blade in front of me, hoping the defensive position would somehow stop the attack. Needless to say, it didn't really help. Just like the red head, the blow sent me flying before the world faded to black.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Author: Kirachan2

Will contain yaoi.

Rated: Fiction T

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.

I woke up in the most awful way possible: feeling groggy, in need of a shower and in a room I did not recognize. My limbs were stiff and sore and there was a dull ache in the back of my head. I rubbed the sore spot absently as I looked around the strange room. The walls were plain white, with bits of blue grey piping across the walls. The bed I had been sleeping on was white with white sheets, the floor was white, white, white and white. The only colour in the room were a few books on a white shelf. If I had been more awake, I would have been panicking and already heading for the exit but I felt so horrible I just flopped back down on the bed. What had happened yesterday? Was it a dream? Probably not, dreams didn't hurt as much as this….unless I had been sleepwalking while dreaming… I wasn't the type to sleepwalk though. It had to be real. None of it made any sense though. That black monster just wasn't supposed to exist. And that guy….he couldn't exist either…could he? Everything I had seen had been so real….seen…. Where was Aerith? Where was Cloud? What had happened to our home? Any exhaustion I had felt before evaporated as the panic took over. That phone call…..something was wrong. I had to find out what was happening. I tried to sit up but my head spun when I made the movement. I moaned and clutched my head, falling back onto the bed. I closed my eyes and waited for the dizziness to pass while counting down from ten. Ten, nine, eight…. I was vaguely aware of some movement outside of the door but with the mushy state my brain was in I couldn't think anything more of it. Seven, six… I heard the door open and more movements. Still I ignored them. Five, four...

That person was now approaching the bed. I clutched my still aching head, fearing that even the slightest shift would cause me to throw up. Three, two, one… "Uh, are you okay, Blondie?" That voice….I looked up at the person and immediately regretted doing so. The pain in my head intensified immediately. I saw splotches of red in my vision. Nothing was clear or focused. I curled into a ball and held my head, shutting my eyes tight. I'm gonna be sick, I'm gonna be sick, I'm gonna be sick…

I felt a pair of hands trying to push me back on the bed. I stiffened and tried to resist; I didn't want to move again. The force of the pushing increased, putting my resistance to an end and new wave of pain through my skull.

I kept holding my head, hoping that somehow the holding motion would help the pain go away. The same pair of hands grabbed my wrists and lifted my hands away from my face. The hands were soft and warm and made me feel strangely calm… Something cold and damp was laid on my forehead. Eventually the pain numbed a little but my head still hurt. The person had not left the room. Suddenly very wary, I opened my eyes a little and squinted at the person. A tall red-head stood there, looking down at me worriedly. He had odd, upside-down tear drop tattoos under his eyes. I let my gaze wander down his body, noting the many unusual patterns he had tattooed on his arms. None of them had a particular shape; they were all spiraling and somewhat gothic looking. I looked back at his piercing green eyes. He looked worried, concerned but also calm. I felt drawn to this man, like I wanted to talk to him. In my current state though, all I could do was close my eyes and fall asleep.

Axel POV

I stood and watched as the blonde kid closed his eyes and slept lightly. His face was so peaceful, making him look almost angelic. He was certainly a mystery though. When I had brought him back to the Castle, Xigbar had looked him over for any marks that gave him the sight or any evidence that he was a Nobody. Everything about him was downright Mundane though. It didn't make any sense for him to see us if he wasn't one of us. This confused me and had shaken me a little. Chances are he was a new species of Heartless that looked exactly like Mundanes but were really monsters. But with his adorable face, that didn't seem possible. Ugh, what am I thinking? He was just supposed to be some annoying kid that could somehow see us. I wanted to know more than how though. I wanted to know about him. I watched him sleep for a little longer before pulling up a chair and resting my eyes myself.

…

Where am I?

...

HEY!

Holy sweet Lord of merciful crap! I jumped at the intrusive voice and looked wildly around the room. I was sitting on a chair in the infirmary and the blonde kid was staring at me. Oh, I had fallen asleep… "Where am I?" I turned my attention to Blondie who was shooting daggers at me. Or at least he was trying to. His big blue eyes were just not capable of giving such horrible looks. The very worst he could do with them was glare. I got up and stretched, delighting in the popping sounds my back and arms made. I refocused on Blondie and tried to keep my demeanor indifferent. The truth was, this guy was fascinating me. How could he possibly see us and how the hell had he summoned a frigging Key blade? "You're in the Castle, which is basically a refuge for Nobodies." He looked a little taken aback, probably from the word 'Castle'. From what I knew, Mundanes did not use castles anymore; they were historic relics to them. "Who are you?" he asked slowly. I grinned and tapped the side of my forehead. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"


End file.
